Napoleon's Invasion of Russia

by George F Nafziger

  Napoleon's forces still contained about 14,000 Guard, a few squadrons of Guard cavalry, about 400 horse under Latour-Maubourg, and a few guns that still had horses to pull them. He also had Eugene's greatly diminished IV Corps.

  Napoleon posted Mortier with 5,000 Young Guard to the east and southeast of Krasnoe, along the Lossmina gorge. They were to hold that position for a day and blunt the advance of the Russians' attack. With the exception of a single battalion of chasseurs on Mortier's left, the Old Guard remained with Napoleon.

  Roguet and his fusiliers were posted in front and to the left of Katova, facing it. Claparede, escorting the baggage and the Imperial treasury, was stationed west of Krasnoe to cover Eugene's retreat on Liady. Tindal, with a battalion of the 3rd Guard Grenadier Regiment, the army's wounded, and a force of dismounted cavalry barricaded the two and prepared to defend it. Drouot stripped the last horses from the guns and had the gunners burn their caissons, throwing their ammunition into a small lake.

  Mortier made his dispositions along the heights above the Lossmina. In front of and along the bank occupied by the Old Guard, Mortier placed Prince Emil of Hesse's brigade of 600 men. This formation formed his left. In the center he placed Lanabeze's brigade, which consisted of the 1st Voltigeur and 1st Tirailleur Regiments. On the right, by Voskres-nie, he placed a battalion of the 3rd Guard Grenadiers. He reorganized his infantry companies in two ranks so that the frontage of the battalions was more nearly normal. The remainder of Delaborde's 1st Division, with a squadron of the 2nd Guard Lancer Regiment and a squadron of the Portuguese Chasseur à Che vai Regiment under the Marquis de Louie, occupied the French second line.

  The Russians opened the action by shelling the Hessians with thirty guns. Shortly later there were 100 guns in action all along the Russian front. The French attacked Ou varo va, which was occupied by the Tcherni” gov Infantry Regiment. The Russians were hard pressed, and Galitzin sent the Seleguinsk Infantry Regiment to support them. On the right, Voskreseniye was furiously contested and changed hands several times. Captain Aurnaud's company of the 1st Voltigeur Regiment was sent forward to block a Russian column that threatened to outflank the French position. His company withstood several charges until he was wounded.

  The French advances stopped, and the Russian artillery fire from the heights on the right of the Lossmina, coupled with the advance of the 2nd Cuirassier Division, forced them back. The cuirassiers crossed the Lossmina below the village, but Galitzin was too weak to follow up his success.

  At 4:00 P.M. the light began to fade and the battle ended. Ahead and on the left, Davout's guns could be heard mingled with the musketry of Roguet's troops as they both engaged Miloradovitch. To the south, east, and west, the entire horizon was ablaze with campfires. Claparede reported Bennigsen had cut the road to Liady, and only the road north to the Dnieper remained open.

  Miloradovitch had positioned his superior forces to engage Davout as he attempted to join Napoleon. The French formed their forces into square and advanced under heavy fire that rained on them from the heights. As the artillery fire tore holes in the French formations, Russian cavalry would sweep forward in an attempt to breach them. However, the French steadfastly repulsed their attacks. The desperate situation was stabilized when General Morancfs 1st Division, I Corps, arrived and stopped the Russian assaults.

  The last escape route for the French to the Dnieper was suddenly closed as the Russians set up a horse battery on it and began to shell the Guard. Delaborde's guns were manhandled into position, but their response was feeble. The Duke of Teviso was ordered to hold out until nightfall. The 1st Tirailleur Regiment fell back on Krasnoe at the express orders of the marshal. The 1st Voltigeur Regiment continued to fight in their original positions.

  The Novgorod and Little Russia Cuirassier Regiments took possession of the field. As the 1st Voltigeur Regiment and 3rd Dutch Grenadier Regiment abandoned their position, the Russians instantly positioned their artillery there, shelling the retreating French.

  The new position of the Guard was quickly becoming untenable. A regiment was sent forward to drive off the Russian artillery. It recoiled from the heavy fire, and a second regiment advanced in its place. As this regiment reached the foot of the battery, it was driven back by the Novgorod and Little Russia Cuirassiers. It formed square and greeted the attacking cavalry with heavy musketry, driving them back. The Russian cavalry struck a third time, supported by two guns that poured cannister into the Guard Infantry. The square was broken and the soldiers massacred as the Mourmansk and Revel Infantry Regiments finished them off with bayonets.

  The situation was rapidly becoming desperate, and Napoleon was obliged to quit the field before he could assure the safety of Ney. He ordered Mortier and Davout to make every effort to save Ney while he and the Guard moved on Liady.

  Roguet's fusiliers and flankers relieved the Old Guard and were shelled furiously as they attempted to hold the Russians away from the road. Despite the fire it was hoped that the III Corps would pass. The Russians were charged by the Guard Flankers, but they repelled the attack. The Guard Fusiliers charged and stabilized the situation.

  Under the cover of night the Russian cuirassiers attacked the plateau and Roguet's forces posted on it. The French guns were dragged away by hand because the horses were dead. Finally Mortier ordered Roguet to retire from the field.

  Krasnoe was on fire as the Russian cuirassiers entered it. They sabered everything they encountered. A battalion of the 3rd Dutch Grenadiers stationed in the city made one last stand and then withdrew, being the last to retire behind the Young Guard and Roguet's division. General Tindal's infantry was so reduced in strength that the companies had an average of twenty men apiece. Roguet's division had suffered about 760 casualties.

  The Old Guard and its comrades advanced westward. They moved with great difficulty over steep and icy roads. They lowered their wagons and guns down the hills on ropes because the horses couldn't safely traverse the slopes. Despite these measures, many guns and wagons were lost. Those who were mounted ran a very serious risk of being crushed if their horses slipped. Many men were crushed. A column of Davout's forces was caught and destroyed during the retreat by the Military Order and Ekaterinoslav Cuirassier Regiments under the command of Generalmajor Kretov as it moved towards Androssvanda.

  On 17 November Napoleon directed Eugene to lead the advance on Orsha and the bridges over the Dnieper. Napoleon and the Old Guard followed, closely pursued by the rest of the Guard. In Krasnoe, the Russians took two standards, 45 guns, 6,229 prisoners, and a large quantity of baggage, including Davout's marshal's baton.

  Orsha proved a great windfall for the ragged army that poured into it. Its commander and administration were both competent and capable. They had a well-stocked magazine system and systematically provided all that was so sorely needed by the Grande Armée. As much as possible the stragglers were fully equipped and returned to their proper formations.

  Napoleon consolidated his forces and ordered the burning of all excess and unnecessary wagons and coaches. His enthusiasm for lightening his baggage train went too far: besides burning his own personal baggage, he also had his only remaining pontoon train burned.

  Despite the serious objections of General Elbe of the Guard Engineers, the train was consigned to the flames. Elbe, however, feared the worst and managed to save two field forges and eight wagons loaded with coal and tools. He also had each of his sappers carry a tool, spikes, and clamps.

  Ney's Finest Hour

  Ney's III Corps had even greater problems than the rest of the army. It was the rear guard and was forced to pass over the same road as the main army, but by the time it arrived the Russians had already had time to prepare to receive it. He reached Krasnoe on 18 November and was greeted by a demand to surrender from an aide de camp of General Miloradovitch. His response was, “A Marshal never surrenders. There is no parlaying under an enemy's fire. You are my prisoner!” And with that he promptly took the emissary prisoner. After th
is his attempts to break through the Russian lines at Krasnoe proved fruitless.

  The Russians prepared for Ney's approach. The 5th, 6th, and 8th Infantry Corps were placed near Debroie, facing Liady. Miloradovitch and Galitzin awaited Ney in strong positions by Krasnoe. General Deprera-dovitch, with the Chevalier Guards, the Horse Guards, and the Astrakhan Cuirassier Regiment, was sent to Winnyie-Louki to prevent Ney's crossing to the right of the main road.

  The pursuit of Napoleon was abandoned to Count Ojarovski, General Borosdin, and the advanced guard of General Rosen, which was reinforced by six battalions of the 6th Infantry Corps and a regiment of Borosdin's cossacks. The pursuit was under the overall command of General Yer-molov.

  On 18 November, near 3:00 P.M., the cossacks announced Ney's approach. Miloradovitch arranged the 7th Infantry Corps in two lines. The 26th Division formed the first line and the 12th Division formed the second line. Both were supported on the right by the Lossmina. Behind them was the 3rd Infantry Corps with the 1st Grenadier Division in the front line and the 3rd Division in the second line. This force extended from the main road to the extreme left. Behind these two corps the 2nd Infantry Corps was held in reserve. Their entire front was covered by the Lossmina. The 2nd Cuirassier Division supported the 3rd Infantry Corps, and the 1st Cavalry Corps supported the 7th Infantry Corps. The 2nd Cavalry Corps stood near Ouvarova to cover the small plain between Loguinova and the Lossmina as well as the right flank of the 7th Infantry Corps.

  A dense haze concealed Ney until his lead elements were 250 paces from forty Russian guns. Despite the heavy cannister fire that erupted once they were observed, the French crossed the Lossmina and passed into the guns. General Paskevitch, commander of the 26th Division, sent the Orel Infantry Regiment and the 5th and 42nd Jager Regiments, supported by the Guard Uhlan Regiment, forward to drive them back. The French recoiled and lost an eagle to the Russians.

  Other French columns crossed the Lossmina to the right of the main road and were driven back by the Pavlov Grenadier Regiment. The battle raged for four or five hours, during which the French were raked by the fire of twenty-four guns on the right of the main road. Ney realized that he was hopelessly outnumbered and that he could never pass through Krasnoe. He withdrew towards the village of Dniakova.

  That night he drew his men around Dniakova, north of the road,and had them build numerous fires to give the semblance of preparing for the night's bivouac. Once night had fallen and the Russians had settled down, Ney led his weary men through the darkness towards Syrokorense, on the Dnieper. When day broke on the 19th Ney was well on his way. The Russians discovered the ruse and sent Platov and his cossacks bounding off like a pack of hounds to locate the escaped prey.

  The cossacks quickly closed on Ney and began trying to stop his advance. Ney formed his troops into square and, taking a musket in his own hands, led them onwards. By midnight III Corps had reached Guisnoe on the Dnieper. During the night his forces crossed over the ice. The ice was too thin to permit the passage of wagons so Ney was obliged to abandon all his train and artillery. Ney was still forty-five miles from Napoleon and Orsha. He covered that gap, and on 21 November he arrived outside Orsha, despite the continual harassment of the cossacks that had followed him across the Dnieper.

  Ney sent a Polish officer to Orsha for help. Eugene responded by sending out rested forces to open the way for Ney's troops. Ney's arrival in Orsha raised the morale of the entire army. It proved an inspiration to everyone. However, Napoleon also received news of Oudinot's failure to hold the Borisov bridge.

  Advance on the Berezina

  Napoleon was doubtful that the Borisov bridge could be secured and was informed of a ford, near Veselovo, about ten miles upstream from Borisov. Napoleon ordered Oudinot to recapture the bridgehead at Borisov or to locate another crossing some place between Berezino, twenty-five miles to the south of Borisov, and Veselovo. Oudinot was to build two bridges if he found a ford and fortify the bridgeheads to protect them.

  Oudinot advanced his forces and captured the eastern bank of the Berezina at Borisov, but he was unable to secure the far bank because of the presence of Admiral Tchichagov. The destruction of the bridge forced him to seek the reported fords.

  Oudinot learned of two fords. The first was at Studianka and was reported to him by General Corbineau, whose 6th Light Cavalry Brigade had been assigned to II Corps. The other ford was near Borisov. However, after Oudinot's Polish scouts reported it to him, the Russians also found it and sealed it off. Oudinot decided to move on Studianka.

  On 20 November Napoleon ordered Victor to move to Borisov and form the rear guard of the army there on 26 November. In response, Victor moved south to Bobr and uncovered Oudinot's rear. If Wittgenstein had been alert he might have struck Oudinot in the rear and seized the last crossing available to Napoleon. He was unaware of the opportunity and pursued Victor instead.

  Napoleon realized this error and on 23 November ordered Victor to return to the north and assume a position in Kholopenichi. Here he could cover Oudinot's rear. However, Victor had already advanced too far south, and, because of pressure from Wittgenstein, he was unable to execute this order.

  Between 20 and 22 November Kutusov continued moving on Kopys. His headquarters were in Lannxi. His army took up positions near it. Miloradovitch and the advanced guard, formed with the 2nd and 7th Infantry Corps and the 2nd Cavalry Corps, were near Goriany. The Russians spent 22 November reorganizing and resting their army. The 3rd and 27th Divisions were organized into the newly reorganized 8th Corps, and the 1st and 2nd Grenadier Divisions became the newly reorganized 3rd Corps. Only General Platov continued to push forward against the French.

  As Corbineau arrived at the Studianka crossing, he found that it was held by a strong Russian force on the western bank. In addition, he discovered that the warmer weather had melted much of the ice and snow, flooding the river. It was now five feet deep and flowing swiftly with great chunks of ice. The swamps had also begun to melt and would quickly become impassable for wheeled traffic.

  Oudinot's other reconnaissance units reported fords at Ucholodi and Bolshoi-Starkov. However, they too were garrisoned by the Russians. When Oudinot learned of these garrisons, he canceled his order to march on Studianka.

  Though Tchichagov and Wittgenstein had established contact with the French, Tchichagov was worried about Schwarzenberg's approach. He began to shift forces south to face this threat. Oudinot observed this, but suspected it was a feint. Napoleon had no knowledge of the approach of Schwarzenberg and had decided to withdraw through Vilna. He ordered Elbe, his pontooniers, and all available engineering and naval units to proceed to Oudinot. Napoleon ordered Dombrowski's and Alorna's detachments to join V Corps. He also ordered half the wagons of these two corps burnt so that the horses could be freed to draw the remaining artillery.

  Napoleon intended that the bridges he planned to build would be used continuously. As soon as they were complete, Oudinot would cross and establish his forces on the western bank to defend the bridgehead. Once Oudinot was established near Bolshoi-Starkov, Ney was to follow and assume a position to his left. Both were to face the Russians to the south. The Imperial Guard was to cross after Ney and take a position to the north, near Brille, where it would form the general reserve. Eugene was to come next, then Davout, and finally Victor. Victor was to hold the eastern bank as a rear guard until the remains of the Grande Armée had crossed. The last act would be when General Elbe burned the bridges. At this point the Grande Armée had the following forces:

  During the night of 23-24 November, the weather grew cold enough to refreeze the marshes. Early in the morning Napoleon ordered Oudinot to cross the Studianka and sent Mortier's Young Guard south to Borisov.

  On 25 November Generals Elbe and Chasseloup, the army's engineers, arrived at Borisov. They detached a small unit of engineers to give credence to the feinted crossing attempts being made by Oudinot. At 6:00 P.M. Oudinot's main forces silently abandoned their positions at Borisov a
nd slipped north to Studianka where they began to establish themselves. The village of Studianka was quickly demolished and its lumber used to build the two bridges.

  The first unit across the ford was Corbineau's brigade. His 400 men attacked the cossacks and their two guns on the far bank. A French battery of forty-four guns was drawn up on the eastern bank, and after brief cannonade, the combined action of Corbineau and the artillery drove the Russians away.

  The Bridges Are Built

  Corbineau's brigade was followed by Elbe's engineers, who threw themselves into the freezing water and began their labors. The night of 25-26 November was spent building a 100-yard bridge that linked the two banks. The first bridge was completed in the afternoon of 26 November. Oudinot and Dombrowski, with 11,000 men, immediately crossed, accompanied by Doumerc's cuirassiers and a few horse guns. The second, and larger, bridge was completed about 3:00 P.M., and the remainder of Oudinot's artillery and the Imperial Guard crossed.

  Despite the efforts of Elbe and his engineers, the weight of the crossing army repeatedly broke down the bridges. As a result, they needed unceasing attention. The engineers were broken into teams that rotated the duties of maintaining the bridges during the crossing.

  Oudinot”s infantry caught Tschlapitz deploying for a counterattack and drove him back on Bolshoi-Starkov. Oudinot sent his cavalry westward to Zembik, where it secured a series of vital bridges, through the swamps, that Tschlapitz had neglected to bum.

  While Ney, reinforced by Claparede, crossed the Berezina, Junot and Victor took up positions around Borisov. Davout assumed a position near Loshnitsa. Tchichagov spent 26 November in Usha, reconnoitering across the Berezina River in an attempt to discover Napoleon's plan, but learned nothing other than that he had been deceived. Wittgenstein was slowly dragging his army along the roads to Kostritsa. Vlastov led Wittgenstein's advanced guard, consisting of four cossack regiments, seven battalions, two cohorts of opolochenie, and six guns. The road was so bad that Wittgenstein was forced to leave twelve artillery companies in Kopya in order to double up the teams on the other companies. The 1st Cavalry Corps (the Russian Guard Cavalry) was left on the Dnieper to refit and reequip. Kutusov, with the rest of the army, now reduced to the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Infantry Corps, 4th Cavalry Corps, and two cuirassier divisions, moved down the main road to Borisov. Miloradovitch dispatched a new advanced guard under General Vassilczi-kov, composed of a jager regiment, one cossack regiment, and the 4th Cavalry Corps.